4 Missing as Plane Vanishes Over Bermuda Triangle

ABC News is reporting the mysterious disappearance of a plane over the Bermuda Triangle. Aboard the aircraft were Jennifer Blumin from New York, 40, her two sons, ages 3 and 4, as well as Nathan Ulrich, 52, from New Hampshire. Miami Air Traffic Control and the U.S. Coast Guard report that the plane, tail number N220N, left Puerto Rico headed for Florida but never made it to its destination. Authorities lost contact with the small aircraft just three hours into its flight.

Mitsubishi MU-2B

A few pieces of debris have been recovered in the area which the Coast Guard have confirmed came from the same model aircraft, a twin-engine Mitsubishi MU-2B. So far, authorities have combed over 8,000 square miles of open ocean for any signs of the plane or its passengers, but none have been found aside from the scant debris. In a statement, the Coast Guard ruled out inclement weather in the area, making mechanical failure or human error the likely causes. The search for the four missing persons is still underway.

The debris recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard.

While small aircraft crashes are a regular and typically not-unusual occurrence, the location of the aircraft has caught the imagination of the internet. The Bermuda Triangle has been the subject of mystery writers since the mid-20th century when a Miami Herald journalist penned an article cataloging a series of seemingly strange disturbances in the area.

Mysterious phantom zone, or misconceived meme?

The idea caught on and has since worked its way into our cultural consciousness, even though scientists and hard data show that the incidence of crashes and disappearances in the area is not above global averages for an area its size. New theories are constantly thrown around to explain the alleged mystery area, although these two have been debunked by recent analyses. Still, if the buzz surrounding this recent tragedy shows us anything about the Bermuda Triangle, it’s that some ideas persist in our zeitgeist no matter what science informs us.